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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National

900 tonnes of sand moved at Redhead as First Creek path to be fixed

More than 900 tonnes of sand have been moved at Redhead Beach while First Creek will be diverted south to improve the popular coastal spot.

Lake Macquarie council kicked off improvements at the beach last week, removing invasive bitou bush and shifting sand away from the shower and bike racks next to the surf club building.

The council's acting manager environmental systems Daniel Hartin said the aim was to lower the height of the dune to stop it spilling over onto the access path and amenities.

Surfers Chenoa Scott and Lukas Edwards enjoying the newly cleared Redhead Beach showers. Picture by Lake Macquarie council

"The build-up of sand was in-filling those areas around the shower, bike racks and bins, making them more difficult to access and use," he said.

"It was also placing excessive strain on the retaining wall and potentially compromising its integrity, which made it necessary to take action."

"Sand dunes are always on the move, but we've consulted with the NSW Government's Soil Conservation Service and put measures in place to slow their move back towards the infrastructure, and to stabilise those dunes in the longer term."

Hay bales have been placed in strips parallel to the surf to reduce the effects of windblown sand movement.

Further south at First Creek, work will begin in July to fix the path linking that part of the beach with the main car park.

Damaged infrastructure set to be repaired alongside First Creek. Picture by Lake Macquarie council

Storms, high tides and scouring from the creek have washed away the lower part of the access path, and badly damaged a stormwater drain beside it.

Mr Hartin said heavy machinery would realign the creek slightly south to improve its flow and reduce its scouring effect on the dunes, drain and access path.

"Like the sand dunes, the creek will naturally take its own path, but this will give our crews a chance to restore and reinforce the path, repair the drain and rehabilitate the dunes," he said.

Works are expected to be finished by the end of July.

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